The U.S. Dollar is trading in favorable ranges following the release of the final revision of fourth-quarter Gross Domestic Product growth and a “hawkish” tilt from some Fed officials.
Overview
Indeed, the third look at GDP data revealed a pace of 3.4% versus an original reading of 3.2%, while Personal Consumption was also upgraded from 3.0% to 3.3%.
Overall, the U.S. economy does not seem to be slowing down, and in comparison to the global situation, it is thriving. While others look back to assess if they have already entered a recession, we surprise ourselves with American progress.
Naturally, the Buck is reaching multi-month highs on a few currency pairs while it looks to be escaping monthly losses after a strong recovery in the last two weeks. Officials from the Fed looking for just two interest-rate cuts for 2024, such as Raphael Bostic, may have found new support for their argument and a new ally in Christopher Waller, who wants more data proving cuts are the right move. As we close out March, expect some slowdown in activity and liquidity as we enter the Easter holiday observations that have some markets shut down until the middle of next week.
What to Watch Today…
AUD ⇓
The Antipodean currencies in Australian and New Zealand Dollars were the biggest losers and movers following the contrast in data releases. Much like other regions of the globe, spending slowed down along with business and consumer confidence. In general, other G-10 currencies and Majors are coping with sluggishness while Emerging Markets now have to deal with some central bank policy divergence as they have already chose to stimulate via cutting borrowing costs. The Buck is solidly holding its strength after a not-so-stellar start to March.
